Love like you
by Morte Mistrata
Summary: Pearl has borne witness to all of Rose's lovers. No one else loves quite like her. A tale of Rose and her knight, Pearl.
1. Chapter 1

Rose Quartz was as unpredictable to her as she was to the Diamonds. She was as uncontrollable as the weather, as unchangeable as they were. She wasn't sure why she was surprised to find that she was sleeping with others in her squadron.

The first that Pearl found out about was Garnet. They had been waiting in a cave for a unit of Obsidians to leave the area. By the time it was clear, the moon had risen high in the sky. Although they had no hinderance in the dark, Rose had them rest on the outskirts of a human tribe. The fires looked like fallen stars beside their tepees, and Pearl had found the sight comforting as they started talking.

"The humans are so strange." Garnet said, her voice full of wonder. Her eyes were locked on a young woman bathing by the river, unaware that she had an audience. Pearl turned to look.

Although they shared humanoid forms, the humans had many differences from gem kind. In men, the main change was their genitalia. Women were much closer in nature. This one looked to be a young adult, with brown skin and black hair similar to Garnet's in texture. Her waist was small enough to make her thighs and behind seem very large, and her breasts were very average sized. As she washed herself, the moon rested on the water and the night was almost silent except for the dull chatter of the tribe.

"How so? I find them… interesting. They get to choose everything about their future; they have no purpose." Rose replied, her eyes star struck, similar to look she had when they first explored the Earth and found their first human.

Garnet shook her head, her visor hiding her eyes. "Their bodies. The way they make more of them. The sounds they make. It's all just...strange."

Rose smiled. "I suppose that's true. Some say that's what our own used to be for." She giggled, referring to the almost vagina-like split between their own legs. Most of the time, no one talked about it or what it was used for. However, a few research gems had let loose that they were likely used to propagate the species when kindergartens weren't viable or possible. They had also said that it could be used for pleasure, and Pearl could testify to that.

Pearl grabbed another log for the fire. "The rumors are only half true." She was strangely smug that she knew about it, and had done it with Rose. It was weird considering that it was a human-like ritual, and she detested most of their processes.

Garnet looked up, as if startled to find her still sitting with them. Rose was silent. The fire crackled.

"Pearl," The way Rose said it, Pearl's name was like honey dripping off of her tongue. She looked up expectantly. "I want you to scout ahead for a few miles. Tell me if any Homeworld gems are still in the area and if there are any human civilizations in danger."

Pearl was hesitant at first, but relented. After all, Rose knew best. She dipped her head. "I'll be back soon."

OoOoO

What she said wasn't a lie. She was back hours earlier than a human would be. It only took a little over one to scout the area. Although there were two other smaller human camps, there were no gems nearby, excluding themselves. Nonetheless, she wanted to have done something useful as she was away, so she brought back another armful of firewood as well.

As she neared the camp, she realised something was different. There was no murmur of a quiet conversation. The fire had dimmed. And she could no longer see their silhouettes above the bushes. Carefully, Pearl dropped the firewood by a tree and pulled her sword from her gem. The metal glistened dimly in the firelight as she approached.

She was right. The two of them were gone. All that was left were two pairs of footprints, leading towards the caves that they had wasted the day away in. Pearl followed, her sword still held tight in her grip. The walk took less than three minutes at her brisk pace. As she approached the cave, she paused. There was something in the air, something organic and yet gem-like at the same time. It wasn't off-putting, merely unfamiliar and yet somehow utterly recognizable.

She creeped to the side of the entrance.

It was dark, but even so she could see the two of them on the floor. In that infinitive instant, she saw more of Garnet's brown skin than she had ever seen before. She was so big, and wide and curvy. Even so, Rose dwarfed her. Rose filled the cave with her tousled curls and large thighs. Her face was hidden by the curve of Garnet's back and the mess of hair but Pearl still knew what she was doing.

She turned away, her shaking hand dropping the sword, which disappeared before it hit the ground. Her breath came out in ragged heaves, her hands trying to stifle the sound. Rose had only done that with her. It was _their_ thing. Something that only Pearl could with her, because Pearl was the most important, and knew her the best. It felt like betrayal, she realized, as Garnet's soft voice carried high notes across the wind.

It shouldn't, and she knew that, even as she slid to the ground. It was true that they had rarely discussed it, and even more rarely discussed boundaries. Was it Pearl's fault then for not asking Rose to stay with her, and only her? Could she even be mad at her about it if they never talked about it? She took three deep breaths and stood up.

She had to get back to camp after they did, and she had to hide her footprints too.

OoOoO

When Pearl arrived back at camp and hour later, her arms held twice the amount of firewood than she had previously gathered and her face was clear of any sign that she had seen anything. Garnet and Rose were sitting on their respective logs, a few quiet words passed between the two, with sly smiles to punctuate. When Pearl dropped the logs, they paused.

"We were wondering why you took so long." Garnet said, a hint of concern in her voice. She stood up and took the load away, allowing Pearl to sit down. _No you weren't. You were too busy to notice a thing._

"I didn't find anything, but I wanted to be sure, so I checked everything. Twice." Pearl replied.

Rose smiled. "There was no need to be so thorough, but thank you anyways. I'm glad to see that it was that instead of an attack that held you up."

 _It was the sight of you two, twisted together like we once were that kept me._

"Ah, don't worry about it. We can go soon, if you like." Pear could see in Rose's expression that she had let something sharp into her words. Rose still smiled.

"We'll go in a moment."

A moment turned into minutes which turned into hours. Their conversation continued, trying to include her until they just gaveup and went on. Pearl listened glumly until finally, she slipped away. Still, she arrived at camp at the same time that they did and though Rose looked at her with concern and perhaps a hint of fear that she had seen what she was not supposed to. Pearl said nothing to her for that day, but by the next morning she had forgiven her (mostly) and resgined to talk to her about it.

That talk never came up.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone who knew Bismuth had a different opinion of her. Garnet thought her interesting, and furthermore one of the best Crystal Gems. Pearl thought of her as many things: strong, beautiful, and a friend. A close friend. Perhaps someone that could take up part of her heart, of Rose let go of some of her heart. Rose thought of her as a great fighter, in more places than one. Pearl found that out one night, after a long day of fighting.

Victory was a hard won prize, one that required many sacrifices in payment. They had lost two Emeralds, and four Citrines that day, and three of them would not be regenerating. While the majority of the army celebrated, Rose had returned to her tent, a dangerously sad anger in her eyes. Pearl had not followed. Instead, she paced outside her tent. What could she do for her? Was she supposed to do anything for her? Maybe she should ask Garnet. No, she couldn't. It was still awkward, at least on Pearl's end to hold a conversation after catching Rose bury her face between her thighs. She sat down across from her tent and produced her spear. She studied it as she waited.

It's blade was sharp, but never hurt as she pulled it from her gem. It always felt like a soothing touch to pull it out, like a sweet release that she had waited far too long to receive. It was simple too. Nothing as ornate as one might expect from a Pearl. It was just a blade, with a simple handle. She dropped it and reformed another. This one had a hilt with vines twisting up to bind it to the blade. Prettier, and still useful enough to be a regular design. She tossed it aside and started to pull out another when Bismuth started walking in that direction.

She yelped, the half formed sword lodging itself in her gem for one painful moment before she dissipated it. Bismuth hadn't seen her, she realized, as she ducked inside the tent. Pearl stood up. Should she go inside? Was she supposed to?

Something shattered and another thing caused a loud thud.

Pearl walked over, and waited beside the tent. She could hear some of their conversation inside.

"...lost. It was too much of a price. I'd rather…than have them do so."

Bismuth yelled. "You're not allowed to die! You are the rebellion, if you die, then…"

Pearl opened the tent up. Rose was glaring at Bismuth, who glared back. The room was a mess. The bouquet's of flowers that she had collected were scattered on the floor, some of the dried flowers detatched from their stems. A glass sculpture, gifted to Rose by a human that she had once saved, was shattered, the pieces glittering like gem shards on the ground. Her bed, though unneeded, was broken in half.

Pearl placed her hand on Rose's arm. She shuddered and pulled her arm away. The tension melted as Bismuth glanced down at Pearl and offered a smile.

"I've got a new sword design for you to check out, when you get the chance." She said. The irrelevent topic brought a smile to Pearl's face, though she said nothing. Instead, she looked up at Rose, whose face was hidden with curls.

"Pearl?"

"Yes, Rose?" She replied dutifully.

"Can you clean this up for me? I need to clear my head." Rose was walking before Pearl had replied.

"Of course."

Bismuth nodded at her and followed Rose out.

The mess wasn't too bad, she supposed. Cleaning was something that she was hardwired to like and be good at, and she didn't mind the satisfaction that came with tidying up a room. Still, seeing her room a mess, the artifacts of Earth broken on the ground left her with a strange feeling. She had seen Rose aggressive before; it was a left behind piece of her own programming. However, she was the one that had taken the aggression. She was the one who was ravaged by her kisses, held roughly in her grasp. It was Pearl's duty, her favorite duty, to do so.

She picked up a bouquet of yellow flowers, three of them crushed into dust. Picking out the flowerless stems, she placed it back on the table. Why did Bismuth follow her then? Was she sparring with her? Or was it something else?

Pearl hoped that they hadn't tracked down Homeworld gems on their own. Bismuth was hotheaded on her own. Combined with Rose's anger, they could really get themselves in trouble. Perhaps she should ask Garnet before setting out. She sighed and started picking up the shards of glass.

She could remember what had gone wrong. She knew that Rose remembered it better than she did. The battle had started out excellent. They had tracked the next target to the tundra, an arctic arena that was half built. It was supposed to just be builders and ornaments. Nothing hard. Nothing dangerous.

Garnet wasn't with them. Perhaps they knew that Rose had deployed her elsewhere. If she had've been there, they would have known that there were six Moonstones under the snow. They had appeared out of nowhere, bursting up from the snow to stab Rose's two Emerald guards. She had grabbed their gemstones before they fell. As the majority of the group went after the orginal target, the moonstones took advantage of their confusion. They ruthlessly attacked the citrines, the brightest gems of the group. They blended in so well, and froze their targets before impaling them slowly with snow. It was a hard won battle, but they had defeated them. The six Moonstones were now in the depths of the temple, bubbled and unable to cause more harm.

Pearl held the glass in her hand, unsure of what to do with them. The rest of the room was clean- or at least as clean as it could be with the bed broken. Exiting the tent, she exited into the dying sunlight. The ground before her was barely unsettled, butit was still enough to show the path that Bismuth and Rose had taken. She stared at it for a few moments. What if Rose wanted to keep the glass pieces? It wasn't inconcievable that she could find someone to put it back together. Pearl didn't want to leave it alone either; what if she forgot to tell Rose, and she got hurt because of it?

Pearl started walking. It didn't take long and was a relatively peaceful experience. And then she started getting close. A few of the bushes seemed to have been trampled. Pearl held the glass tighter as she pulled her spear free. This could be the signs of an ambush, or of an animal. Either way, she wanted to be safe. As she approached the opening in the undergrowth, the sound of a gutteral growl rang through the trees.

Another, softer one replied. Pearl pushed aside the bushes and drew her sword. She froze at the scene below. Bismuth held Rose down, her knee deep in the apex of her legs. Rose purred and growled all at once as she tried to escape. Finally overpowering Bismuth, she forced her to the ground and jammed her fist into her with no hint of the gentleness that she had shown to Pearl.

Pearl dropped her sword. It hit the ground with a thud before disappearing. She backed away and walked back to camp. It was only as she returned to Rose's tent that she realized that she was holding the glass so tightly. Her hand was covered in small cuts. She dropped the glass on Rose's desk and closed the flaps.

For a moment, she buried her face in the cover of the bed. The pleasent smell of Rose's namesake filled her nostrils. She knew this smell. She thought that she had known this smell, this person that she had devoted her life to. Maybe she was wrong.


End file.
